More of the Same
by aragornwen
Summary: After Aliit, but before When's Lunch. This is how Rana got the scar and the price on her head....


"Hello there, princess. What's a pretty thing like you doing with a big ugly gun like that?"

Rana set down her glass and slowly turned to stare at the leering human male leaning against the bar next to her. "Shove off now and I'll let you live," she growled.

"Aww, don't be like that, sweetheart." The man reached out a hand.

"Touch me and I'll rip off that arm and feed it to you."

He smirked. "If you knew who I was, you wouldn't be threatening me."

Rana snorted impatiently. "I don't care if you're Zorba the Hutt's great-great-grandmother's third cousin twice removed on your father's side. Shove off!" The last word was punctuated by the crunch of her armor-clad fist meeting his face.

He fell sprawling on his back, clutching his nose and spouting profanities. "Why you little-"

Rana's eyes glinted dangerously as she stalked forward to plant a boot in the middle of his chest. "You sure you want to finish that sentence, bur'cya?"

He fell silent, glaring balefully up at her while pinching his nose to staunch the bleeding.

"That's what I thought. Go crawl back in your hole and practice your manners." She pirouetted neatly on his chest, savoring his gasp, and ended up face-to-vibroblade with one of the biggest and ugliest men she'd ever seen in her life.

The first man had dragged himself upright and was leaning against the bar, a malicious glint in his eye and his face a bloody mess. "Finish her, Vik!" he hissed.

"Yeah, Vik, come on," Rana taunted. "You ought to be big enough to beat me, huh?" Vik lumbered forward and took a swing at her with the vibroblade. She dodged it easily, a wolfish grin tugging at her lips as she pulled her own knife. As the two of them circled, each seeking an opening, she heard the bartender pleading with the man she had punched.

"Mr Arak, not again…"

Rana nearly laughed. Of all the scumbags in all the cantinas in this city, she would have broken the nose of Nyc Arak, the boss of the biggest smuggling ring on the planet. She couldn't have planned a better way to cheer herself up if she'd tried.

Returning her attention to the task at hand, she dodged and feinted, moving constantly in an attempt to confuse her opponent. Not that he looked like he needed much help in that area… As he moved to block her feint, she struck quickly under his guard. He lashed out blindly with the vibroblade, swearing in pain, and scored a long gash down the side of her face. She hissed and jumped back, feeling the sting of the cut and the warm trickle down her cheek.

Wiping the blood away with the heel of her hand, she backed away, putting a table between her and Vik, then threw the knife. Vik stopped, looking slightly puzzled, then crumpled to the floor. Rana rolled her eyes and stepped over to the body to retrieve her knife. Straightening and cleaning it off on her ragged black kama, she met Arak's eyes. He was staring at her in mingled rage and disbelief.

"You killed him!"

"No, utreekov, he's just taking a nap. He'll wake up shortly."

Arak narrowed his eyes. "Bona nai kachu, Mando peedunkey," he spat in Huttese.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Rana retorted in the same language, turning back to her abandoned drink. The bartender approached her nervously.

"Uh, ma'am, I think it might be best for you to leave now… Do you know what kind of enemy you just made?"

Rana tossed back her glass. "Yup." She tossed a credit chip onto the bar and turned to go, tucking her helmet under her arm. "Send the cleaning bill to my friend over there, will you?"

She stepped outside, the cool night wind making the cut down her face sting. Hearing her name, she turned to see Jus leaning out the window of his speeder. "Rana! I've been looking for y- What have you done to your _face_?"

She slid into the seat beside him. "_I_ didn't do anything to my face."

Jus sighed. "Fine. I'm sorry. Now what happened to your face?"

"I forgive you. Oh, the usual… Just another crime lord trying to hit on me, so I hit back. He didn't appreciate it, so I had to… rearrange a few attitudes."

Jus shook his head. "Ran'ika, what are we going to do with you?"

Rana grinned, then winced. "Face. Ow. How 'bout take me to Ruusaan and let her yell at me while she's patching me up?"

Jus smiled wryly. "Whatever you want."


End file.
